December 8, 2013

View of the day-Not a great start to the harvest convention weekend, but we did stay ahead of the storm. This was on the #1 highway west of Moose Jaw, just after it had reopened.

What a hectic couple of weeks we have had! Marilyn was back at work, plus getting set up for the dinner theatre and getting ready for the Association of Canadian Custom Harvesters convention that was coming up. Al was getting everything organized for his big farm toy auction that is coming up in February in conjunction with the toy show.

After the performances on Nov. 22 & 23 in Yorkton, Al was good enough to empty out the cargo trailer for his toys so that the "damn theatre group" could use it for the road gig they had in Spy Hill, just over an hour away on Nov. 30. Those small town audiences are a real treat and that was the best performance to date.

The harvesters convention was in Lethbridge, AB, Dec. 4, 5 & 6 with registration starting on the night of the 3rd. There had been weather warnings that a severe blizzard was due to hit on Monday, so Al decided we should not take any chances and leave Sunday afternoon, right after we had gotten the cargo trailer unloaded back at the hall in town.

There really wasn't anything serious as we left Yorkton, but we had heard the #1 highway was closed for about 30 miles due to several semis that had been in a wreck...the freezing rain was the cause. By the time we hit that stretch of highway, we had about an hour wait, then crawled for several miles before we were able to open it up again.

There was thick fog along with the icy highways, so we couldn't really drop the hammer to make up the lost time. Fortunately, it cleared off by the time we got to Swift Current and the rest of the way was clear sailing. Perfect driving weather.

We got to Lethbridge, got registered and were settled in to wait for the storm...and to wait for Lynn and Gerry Prevost to show up with the setup for the convention. We didn't have to wait long for the weather...just after midnight it started snowing and blowing...HARD.

The next morning we looked out the window...what we could see from our window with the view of the roof...and the flags were straight out with the wind. Not fluttering, but looking like they were frozen stiff, the wind was blowing so hard. We did venture out to see what was happening and it wasn't good. Thank goodness for the 4x4 on the Dodge.

And not a good day to go combine shopping.

Lynn and Gerry managed to make it through the storm and got to relax after the chaos, while we just stayed in the room to watch Monday Night Football.

Tuesday, we had to make a run to Costco for a few things, so Al drove Marilyn, Lynn and Amy, one of the other ladies that had come with a trade show booth. We got our shopping done, then went back to the hotel to get the registration set up. Unfortunately, Lynn was getting a lot of calls from people who were cancelling out...not a good sign after all the setup that had gone into it. Attendees cancelling was one thing, but the presenters were cancelling too, so there was a scramble to fill a lot of the slots that were left open.

We had some good sessions from the big three and the swag was pretty nice...coins, hats and other stuff.

Here are a few of the snazzy items. It was neat watching the JD centrepieces getting made by one of the guys...he was getting the ribbon curling down to a science by the end of the jars. Someone made the comment that the grain in the bottom of the jar was from throwing over...it didn't matter, they were really neat. Too bad we didn't win the one on our table. It was looking good when they said the oldest at the table had to stand up, which was Marilyn, but then they added a couple of other moves and we were out. We might have to do that with a red one for the toy shows.

Thursday the ACCHI had our business meeting and there was a new executive elected. Lee Petersen, from L. Petersen Farms, moved up from Vice President to President and Shawn Thacker, from Thacker Harvesting, came back on the board as Vice President. Marilyn stayed on as Secretary-Treasurer.


The weather had cleared up and the city was working hard at getting the streets cleaned up, but the deep freeze had kicked in...which was good for the six huge pumpkin pies that were in storage on the back of the pickup. It is Celcius, but "feels like" -46º is cold in any language...although it does translate into -50.8ºF!

So we were down to the last night, and it was auction night...lots of treasures to behold. We had decided this year we were not going to get anything big...just do the silent and the bag auctions. That didn't last long.

It was nice to see the big three changing colors for the auction. Louis from CaseIH was having a hard time modeling the JD jacket, but with a little help, he got it on.

Mike from JD lost a wager and had to "model" the CaseIH flag during the auction and Louis was recalled to model the New Holland flag, which really wasn't that far from CaseIH. 

We were lucky to have Jim and Tracy Zeorian make it to the convention from Nebraska. Tracy is the Past President of the US Custom Harvesters, and is now the Office Manager for their association. They have made the last few conventions, so we were concerned if the weather was going to keep them away. They flew in to Calgary and Gerry drove through part of the storm to pick them up. One of the items they had brought for the auction was a certificate for a membership to the USCHI, two registrations for their annual convention in March and three nights accommodation.

Marilyn was working at the front with Lynn, keeping track of the bidders and their items. She was surprised when she found out that Al was the winner of the USCHI certificate. Now he had no excuse not to go this year.

When the big ticket item came up from Case, we had decided on an amount that we wouldn't go over, but we knew we would have to up it a bit, since everything else was going so high. This time it was Marilyn's turn to bid, which is never a good idea, since she won't lose an item because someone is "slightly" over her limit. She got what we wanted.

And isn't it a beauty? They put stickers of combine headlights and a feederhouse on the front and some fabulous art work on the sides. Of course, we don't golf, but Marilyn did get a lovely CaseIH golf bag a few years back at one of the other convention auctions and it should look pretty darn nice on the back.

Al wants to haul it to auctions, so that when they make him park a mile away from the site, he just has to unload the rig from the trailer and hit the auction.

Now we will both have something to drive in the parade...and it has cupholders!

We left Lethbridge around noon on Friday after finishing up a meeting with the sponsors, and started the 500 mile trip back. The roads had all been cleared, and it was four lane most of the way, so we made pretty good time, getting home around 11:30pm. 

Marilyn had another performance Saturday night, so she spent most of the day at the hall getting ready. Sunday was a super day off, just getting back into the "zone"...for Marilyn, work, for Al, maybe the same since he is going back to H&R before the year ends.

Even though we aren't in "harvest mode", Marilyn will still post occasionally...there are, after all, several toy shows coming up. 

We hope you all have a Merry Christmas with friends and family, and a prosperous new year.

Now we have to make room to park a golf cart...

November 16, 2013

View of the day-Before and after for the combine. It's official and it has been put away for the season.


Time for an update...it's been a hectic couple of weeks. Al's journey to Dyersville was short and sweet. The guys left on Wednesday morning and were back home on Sunday...a lot of driving. It was a nice ride for Al and Roger, as Ken took his truck and did all the driving and all they had to do was sit sit back and enjoy the ride. No pictures this year, unless we get some from Ken.

Marilyn finished the combining and got the combine cleaned up while he was gone. We had a couple of gorgeous days for cleaning, which made it just slightly less painful. 

This was also the weekend that the theatre group was attending a short play festival in Regina. Ours was the last of 7 performances over three days, and although we didn't bring home the brass, we did get a couple of honorable mentions. We also were adjudicated, so some of the suggestions from the workshop should go a long way to sprucing up our next five dinner theatre performances.

Since we both got home on Sunday, we had enough time to get clothes washed, load them back in to a suitcase and get ready for another road trip Monday morning. Al said AIS was to be 6:30am, since we had to drive over to Roger's farm near Lipton...which isn't far from Balcarres...then we had to unload our little cargo trailer and reload Roger's larger cargo trailer. Apparently the guys had done some shopping in Dyersville.

Once Marilyn worked her packing magic and got everything in, we went in to have lunch with Roger and Linda, then it was go time. We were pulling the cargo trailer with the dually, while Roger and Linda came in their SUV.

There were a lot of weather warnings out, but most of them had been scaled back in our part of the province, so we started out for Red Deer, Alberta and the Agri-Trade show, where the guys were setting up tables for the toy show.

We knew the first stretch of road would be horrendous, even without the bad weather, but we figured it was shorter, so we would bite the bullet and take a chance.

It was bad, but got progressively worse as we neared the Alberta border...and the last 45 miles seemed to take forever. They had gotten a lot of snow and the highways hadn't been cleaned or sanded, so it was rough and slippery.

We finally got there and were thankful that we had gone a day early. The show didn't start until Wednesday, so that gave us an extra day to set up. Now, when Al goes to toy shows, he generally gets 4 or 5 table to set up on, but because there is such a waiting list to get into the Red Deer show, they were only able to get 3 tables...two for Al and one for Roger. Oh, boy...Marilyn and Linda had their work cut out for them. Also, it was upstairs and there was only one elevator.

A lot of stuff ended up stored under the table and brought out as soon as a spot was vacated...and there was a lot of that over the four days. It turned out to be a really good show, but now the guys are worried that they won't have enough stock for the upcoming shows . That must mean more shopping.


There were a lot of interesting displays at the show...not a lot of dioramas, likely due to the lack of room...but here are a few pictures of some of the displays.

A shop display.

At the elevator with a truck dumping.

The truck being hoisted up to dump.

A custom built rig...very detailed....on Oliver row.


A custom made JD combine with a grain vac on the back, for anything coming out the back.

And the best one of all...a prototype harvester. Header width is proportionate to capacity.

The show ended on Saturday at 3pm and we were ready to face the task of packing up the tables and getting everything into the trailer. We decided earlier in the week to stay over on Saturday night and leave early in the morning, that way we wouldn't have to be in a panic to get loaded and on the road in the dark.

The shop trailer was no where near as loaded as when we came, so the packing time was greatly reduced. It had been packed to the ceiling pretty much all the way to the back when we started out.

We left at 6:30am and it was foggy and snowing. We were going to take a different route back, travelling south, then cutting across to Saskatoon and down Hwy 16, but Al got so fed up with the tailgating and swirling snow, that he turned around and drove to Edmonton and got on Hwy 16 there. Just a bit out of the way...1000 km/632 miles as opposed to 870 km/540 miles...but with four lane all the way and no snow, we still made pretty good time.

Once we finally got home, it was time for Marilyn to get back into the "zone"...the Staples zone. She had gone in to help get Christmas stock out at Liquidation World after closing time in the evenings, but now it was time to get back into the 7am frame of mind....and rehearsals were still going on.

Al had some cargo trailer rearranging to do, so he was running back and forth to Lipton. We still had a couple of beautiful days, so he was able to get the headers cleaned up...Marilyn had to leave something for him to do. He took the pickup head over to Roger's quanset to spend the winter and the MacDon will go down to Kim and Marg's for the winter.

Marilyn had ordered Al's birthday present for him, way back in the beginning of August, but it was forever on back order, so he went without. Marilyn assured him it was the best gift she had ever come up with, but wouldn't tell him what it was and now it was almost Christmas and he had just about given up, when it arrived.

It was massive, meant for two or three people to curl up in with three cup holders in each arm and a cooler on the side. Once Marilyn set it up in the living room, it dwarfed the "bridge"...Al's big LaZBoy recliner...he had to use a step stool to get into it! What a conversation piece.


So now we are pretty much settled in and now that we finally got our new furnace put in, old man winter can "bring it on"...

October 29, 2013

View of the day-The other day the water wasn't as "hard" on this slough...that's ice with a skiff of snow on it now.

Al was busy combining, even though it was a late start and an early finish most days. He got the straight wheat finished, then had to come back to take the straight head off to finish the swaths. Fortunately, he wasn't that far from the yard, so he just roaded the combine back to change heads.

Marilyn was working on getting her costume sewed for the competition performance coming up this weekend. While she worked on that, we were getting a new furnace installed, so the guys were there all day getting that job done. Since we don't have a basement in our house, the furnace is in a room just off the garage, so the access was really good for hauling in and out.

Al got the swaths done, then came back home and loaded the pickup head back on the trailer. Now he had to move the straight header a few miles south to a patch of standing oats. He left the header there and called it a night.

This morning, we woke to a thick layer of frost on everything, so Al wasn't able to start much before noon. Once the combine was warmed up, he went down and got the oats cut...a tangled, downed mess...but at least there wasn't a lot of it. 

He came back to the yard and switched headers out for the last time...there was a small patch of canola to do, but he wasn't going to start tonight.

He had talked to another guy from 25 miles south of Yorkton, who had some canola to do, but since he was only able to send the combine, the farmer said he would work on his own and see how far he could get. Al told him if he still had some left after November  11 he would be able to help him out. He also got a call from another farmer he had talked to a while back, and they had just picked up their last swath, so they were done, too.

So tomorrow, he is on his way to Dyersville, Iowa for the National Farm Toy Show, with Roger and his neighbor. That means Marilyn gets to combine the last field of the year...then clean the machines while he is gone.

He gets back Sunday, then we are off to Red Deer, Alberta to set up at a toy show at Agri-Trade for the week.

There won't be any pictures from Dyersville this year...

October 26, 2013

View of the day-Another great sunset...it never gets old.

Al was out early to head for town, then check out the weekend auction out where we unload the equipment. He didn't come home with anything. He went out to the combine to service and by 11:30, he was making dust.

Marilyn spent the day at home, trying to get some more work done while checking the trap lines. Around 2am, the sweet sound of a trap springing got her up to do some inspection. Finally we had nailed one of the little bastards. He was still squirming and she didn't feel like making a kill, so she decided to go back to bed and deal with it in the morning. That was the wrong thing to do.

When she went to empty the trap, it was gone! Maybe Al had dumped it...fat chance, he said, so now she had to find out where it went. After looking under all the furniture and along all the places where there had been droppings, she was ready to give up. Then on a return trip to the living room, just under the corner of a blanket on the love seat, she saw the trap...with the mouse still squirming!

It was not happy and was being held by one of the front legs, so she took the trap outside to release it...hoping the neighbor's cats would be hanging around. It was still chomping at the trap and anything that came close, so Marilyn just put the trap down on the step and walked away. After an hour, it had given up and she was finally able to get the trap unloaded, just as the cats showed up. Trap lines are reset for any relatives that might show up.

Al was busy combining again, he was getting some help from another combine, but they had to have a swather cut ahead, since all they had was a pickup head.

While he was combining, he had a visit from Danny and Dillon Ismond. Young Dillon had gotten a ride in a JD combine when the local volunteers were taking off the Yorkton Terriers cash crop. It was his first combine ride and he couldn't stop talking about it, but Marilyn thought he needed to experience a red one. She had been Facebooking with Danny to get him to come out to Balcarres, where his dad lives, for a ride, but since we were working so close to Yorkton, he was able to make it out today.

Dillon was pretty impressed with Big Red, especially since he had never seen the straight cut head...they were picking up swaths on his other ride. Too bad his ride was short, but at least someone took pictures...no way Al would have done that.

These are courtesy of Danny.

Al got the field done, then moved down the road from our yard and got started on the last field. He didn't have the strong wind that was blowing last night, so he had to shut down earlier than he would have liked.

But he can see the light...

October 25, 2013

View of the day-All tucked away for the winter.

What a productive day! While Al was anxiously awaiting "go" time in the combine, we found plenty to do around the yard. Al had to take the half ton into town to get the heater looked at...unfortunately, it wasn't just a flush that was needed. It seems one of the heater doors is not working and the dash would have to be removed...we've been there, alright.

Marilyn was still working on unpacking and while Al was in town, the furnace man made it out. One look at the furnace and we found out they don't make parts for that one anymore...he even called their supplier and Marilyn heard him laughing on the other end when they told him the brand. So, it would seem we need to get a new furnace. They sent out one of the head guys out and he looked things over and gave us a quick estimate on a new furnace, took some measurements and then they were on their way. Still no furnace, but it looks like they can get the new one in on Monday or Tuesday...let's hope so, since we will both be away next weekend and it wouldn't be good to leave the fireplace going.

We got the camper winterized, closed up and parked for the winter...always a big job and a sad one...for Marilyn, at least. Al was more sad that it was 2pm and we still weren't combining. Murray had done a test around 11am, just as they had planned, but it was testing 21%...just a little high...so he decided to wait a few hours.

While we were waiting, Marilyn got the lawnmower out to clean a spot for the camper, then that spilled over into doing the whole lawn. It looks so much better now for the winter, except a good go around with the weed trimmer is in order.

We finally moved the combine and header out to the field, taking the long way around. There is a back road straight east of our place, but you have to cross a low water crossing and the combine doesn't fit through with the header. 

We got out to the field, got the header hooked up, then Al stopped to talk to Murray, who was in his pickup holding part of a rotor rub bar...not a good sign. This would be the first time in a long time that we got to work alongside a silver combine.

We started combining and the wheat, while still pretty high in moisture, was going through the machine like good old Kansas winter wheat. Thick and lush and except for the fact that it was 5pm and the sun was already setting, we could have been in Kansas...well, there was also the 34ºF/1ºC temperature that brought us back to reality.

While Al was combining, Marilyn made a dash into town to pick up another heater to help with the next couple of nights that are supposed to be down to 19ºF/-7ºC.

But tomorrow is supposed to be sunny and warmer...

October 24, 2013

View of the day-Getting the tractor and cart unloaded for the last time this season.

The last couple of days have been busy with trying to get the camper unloaded and put away. Marilyn was sure she had taken a lot less this year, but by the looks of what had to come into the house, that can't be right...and she certainly didn't buy a lot of stuff to bring home.

We noticed the furnace in the house was making odd squealing noises...perhaps a bearing going out somewhere...when the squeal turned into a hum, we knew there was a problem. Marilyn called a couple of places, but no one would be able to come out until Friday...three days. Good thing we have a gas fireplace. Perhaps Marilyn shouldn't have been in a hurry to get the camper cleaned...the furnace works fine in there.

Al was busy running around town getting everything back to normal...the mail and newpapers, trying to fit in a rad flush on the half ton...not a good area to have no heat for the winter. He squeezed in some time to go with Roger to check out a toy collection that someone was selling.

The only thing we had left to move was the tractor and cart, which was still down at Carlyle. Al took the General down early this morning and got it loaded up...by himself...that was a first. Kim was getting some grain moved around, but he showed up in time to help chain down the load before Al took off.

It wasn't a pleasant ride back for Al...no heat in the General, remember. He thought since it was going to be a sunny day that the cab would be sort of warm. Nope. When he got back to town with the load, he called Marilyn to meet him out at the Yorkton Auction yard so we could unload.

That went a lot faster than the loading and once he had the empty trailer hooked up to the General, he took off for Saltcoats to park it where the combine trailer had been left. Marilyn went back to her unpacking and waited for Al to get back so she could give him a ride back out for the tractor, but she got a reprieve when the neighbour was able to take him back.

He got the tractor and cart into the yard and spent another evening trying to thaw out in front of the fireplace. How convenient there was a World Series baseball game, an NFL and a CFL game to watch. Lucky guy.

Tomorrow we combine some straight wheat a half a mile from home...

October 21, 2013

View of the day-Just what we need to move home in...snow.

We were up early to have eggs before we forged into the crappy weather. It wasn't that bad at Yorkton, but as we got closer to the farm at Balcarres, the snow was coming down pretty hard.

While Al got the corners of flax that were left in the box of the General cleaned out, Marilyn got the header trailer lined up to load, then got the header ready to load. When Al got back, we got the header strapped down, then went to work getting the combine trailer moved out of the tall grass for loading.

After getting the combine loaded, chained down and hooked up to the truck, we waited for Brenda to show up with the little Dodge, so she could pull the shop trailer back with us. She got there just as we were getting the camera hooked up and the oversize signs on the trailer. Then we were off.

It continued to snow all the way to Yorkton...some would say we brought it with us. We got back out to the farm, got the combine unloaded, then Al took the trailer out near Saltcoats, to park it for the winter. Marilyn got the combine in the yard, but didn't get anything parked, because she had to get into town to meet Brenda for a late lunch, then she had a meeting and rehearsal again.

Al got back to the farm and proceeded to get as much rearranged as he could, what with the camper in the middle of the yard. He got everything into a temporary spot, then tried to thaw out...no heater in the General plus being wet from the snow is not a good combination.

There will be more combining, just not for a couple days...

October 20, 2013

View of the day-What a thing to come home to. At least it's not deep.

Today was moving day...for the camper, at least. Al had the last day of the Regina Toy Show to attend with Roger, so he was gone early...not as early as yesterday, though. The show didn't open until 10am today, so he got to sleep in a bit.

Marilyn, on the other hand, had the camper to close up and get ready to move. Normally, most of it gets done the night before, but not this time...it would be the last move of the season before winterizing and parking. Once the camper was hooked up, she stopped at the house to drop off some maps, then said goodbye and was on her way home.

Uneventful trip, except that there seemed to be a several vehicles coming towards her that were covered in snow. Not a good sign. By the time she got home, there was snow on the ground, but only enough to make a mess. After the camper got parked in its "unloading zone", the dish had to get set up so Al would have his NFL when he got home.

Marilyn had rehearsal at 1pm, so she had time for a quick shower before heading into town. After rehearsal was over, it was back to the farm for the dreaded unloading of the camper. Which strategy to use this year...load one rubbermaid tub, then bring it in and unload it...or load several tubs and bring them all in to unload...or load everything into tubs and bring them in one at a time to unload. The last one seemed to be the one selected. Too bad there weren't enough tubs to do the job.

Al made it home from the toy show around 8pm, after stopping to catch the last five minutes of the Terriers hockey game in town. He had a pretty good day of sales...for a Sunday...the income goes to his "Dyersville fund". That trip is coming up pretty quick at the end of the month.

We are still getting calls for combining, but at least they are a bit closer to home...like a couple miles...so we won't need the camper. Harvest isn't done yet.

But first we have to get the combine home...

October 19, 2013

View of the day-The combine is back in the yard and finally finished at Balcarres.

Al was up before the crack of dawn to meet Roger in Fort Qu'Appelle, then they were off to Regina and their tables at the Regina Toy show. By the time Marilyn woke up there was snow falling, but fortunately it didn't stick around...the rain did, however.

Before Al left, he discovered that we had run out of propane during the night, so it was mighty chilly in the camper...good thing the fireplace took some of the chill off. When Marilyn finally pried herself out from the warmth of the bed, she got the tanks in the back of the pickup and headed for Melville to get them filled.

When she got back to the farm with the full tanks, she stopped at the house and picked up Jean and headed out to where the combine was parked, to move it back to the yard. Bob had finished the last field of flax last night around 2:30am, which meant his harvest was finally done. Yay!

After getting the combine back to the yard, she figured she might as well get the hoses rolled up and put away. Then it was "take it easy" time as she took the rest of the day off.

After all, tomorrow the camper goes home...

October 18, 2013

View of the day-Quite a load of ice...about an ice cream pail worth...got cleaned out of the water hose this morning.

After making lunch and getting the hose thawed out, Marilyn had the job of servicing a fueling today. She was on her way to the field around 10:30, but was pretty sure there wouldn't be combining for a while...there was actually some snow pellets that fell. Just enough to wet everything down, but not enough to stay.

While she was waiting for the combine to warm up, she got a text from Jean that the crew was going into Balcarres to have lunch at the rink and she should join them. Just as she got close to town, she got a call that she should go back to the field to pick up Jake, who was just moving over with his combine to help out. After picking him up, we were off to lunch...without the company of his guard dog, who remained in the cab.

After a delicious and filling lunch, we were back at the field, ready to get started. Jake had ridden back with Marilyn and when we got back to the field, the HoneyBee tech was out there with a demo header for him to try out on his CaseIH 8120 combine.

While they worked on the header, Marilyn cranked up and tried to combine to the other end of the field...it took quite a while...it just wasn't ready yet. Undaunted, she plugged along, stopping every 50 feet or so to unplug the feeder house, or pull wads off the reels...and only once to get the feeder chain back in place after it jumped a cog. Since Al had been doing the repair every time it happened before and he wasn't around, she had to figure it out for herself. Must have done it right, because it never happened again.

Around 2pm, it was like a switch was flipped and the flax started going through like a dream and she was off to the races. There were four quarters in a row, with three red machines and a couple of green ones all split up among the fields. That poor cart driver had his work cut out for him, trying to keep all the machines running as they worked so far apart.

By the end of the evening, Al had gotten back from his Regina road trip and had started hauling to the bins. Marilyn finally got finished with the piece she was working on...occasionally going out to pull straw off the feeder drum and reels. It was getting back to the way it had started, but she could see the end of the field and kept on cutting to the end.

We even had snow flurries tonight...